Author
Topic: Women in Congolese Music (Read 1131 times)

Is there any popular female Congolese musicans right now? Maybe I'm not paying attention, but aside from MJ 30 I don't really see anyone else. Even Cindy has not proven herself to stand solo as her previous generation of female singers; Tshala Mwana, Mpongo Love, M'bilia Bel, and to a lesser degree Barbara Kanam.

The last woman in Congolese music to perfectly balance beauty and talent was Pierrette Adams. I loved her earnest vocals and the versatile song approach which kept things consistently exciting. She incorperated hip-hop, folklore, and the sebene heavy animations we enjoyed from other groups.

We also must give credit to her long time arranger, Boncana Maïga of Africando! The sound is breathtakingly beautiful, it still holds up as among the best produced albums from our genre. Just listen to the lush instrumentation of these songs!

Anyone know anything about her or her band? I'm surprised she hasn't gotten a biography yet.

For sure, I do agree. However, I don't think there's been room for Congolese female artists to be writers & producers to start with. They all have really great voices, they just lack creating a sound that fits them. *cue an amazing producer*

I disagree, there have been many producers are behind many impact female artist. The music partnership of Empompo Loway/Mpongo Love, Tshala Muana/Aladji Toure, and I can go on. Where we do agree is that a lot of these artist needs an arranger who will manage the production of the album from start to finish to bring out the best sound.

@Wenge1995 I specifically meant Congolese female artists to be writers and producers themselves not having other men producing them/having an attachment to another band. Since you listed male musicians and writers.

Pabloone71
#8 on: December 06, 2019, 15:21

Is there any popular female Congolese musicans right now? Maybe I'm not paying attention, but aside from MJ 30 I don't really see anyone else. Even Cindy has not proven herself to stand solo as her previous generation of female singers; Tshala Mwana, Mpongo Love, M'bilia Bel, and to a lesser degree Barbara Kanam.

The last woman in Congolese music to perfectly balance beauty and talent was Pierrette Adams. I loved her earnest vocals and the versatile song approach which kept things consistently exciting. She incorperated hip-hop, folklore, and the sebene heavy animations we enjoyed from other groups.

We also must give credit to her long time arranger, Boncana Maïga of Africando! The sound is breathtakingly beautiful, it still holds up as among the best produced albums from our genre. Just listen to the lush instrumentation of these songs!

Anyone know anything about her or her band? I'm surprised she hasn't gotten a biography yet.